DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL RACE John Kerry and voters: This time, it's personal

Boston newspapers have endorsed him.
PEMBROKE, N.H. (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is going personal, working overtime to connect with voters while trying to counter his aloof image and capitalize on his success in Iowa.
When a teacher recently complained about low pay and crushing student loans, Kerry pressed her. "If you don't mind me asking, how much do you make?" he asked.
When a backer of a fringe candidate used her question time to give a speech, Kerry ignored the hissing crowd and patiently heard her out.
"I appreciate the calmness with which you approach this," he told the woman.
Tide has turned
Less than three months ago, Kerry's political obituary was written in some quarters. The four-term Massachusetts senator trailed fellow New Englander Howard Dean badly in New Hampshire and struggled to make inroads in Iowa. But his stunning win in Iowa on Monday reshaped the presidential race and gave him the momentum heading into New Hampshire's primary next Tuesday.
Kerry has tied or surpassed Dean, the former Vermont governor, in public opinion polls, including a Boston Herald-RKM survey showing him 10 percentage points ahead of Dean, larger than the margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. Private campaign surveys also have him ahead of Dean, whose numbers have fallen steadily for more than a week.
He hoped to keep momentum in a televised debate with his Democratic rivals tonight. Kerry won the endorsement today of the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe. The newspapers, from Kerry's home state of Massachusetts, which borders New Hampshire, cited his three decades of public service.
Quote from paper
"If we have learned anything since the 2000 presidential election it is that in a dangerous and uncertain world there is no substitute for a steady hand at the nation's helm, guided by a lifetime of experience," the Herald said. "And that, at the end of the day, is what Senator John Kerry has to offer the Democratic Party as its nominee for president."
Unclear is whether the up-close-and-personal style is a reflection of a new campaign team's strategy, a candidate figuring it was his last best shot or, now, a confident White House hopeful.
At stop after stop on the campaign trail, Kerry has tried to identify with voters by sharing his own story.
He routinely mentions his bout with prostate cancer to try to persuade voters that he understands health care as more than a political issue. Now he talks about how he joined with his siblings to provide home health care for his ailing mother after a stroke, and then discusses the pain of losing both his parents in the past couple of years.
"What you're hearing is the real story that I want to talk about," Kerry says. "I don't want the words of politics to get in the way of seeing the problem."
Time with voters
Kerry has made a point of sticking around to take questions as long as voters are willing to ask, and New Hampshire voters are full of questions. That leaves him stuck at campaign events hours behind schedule and driving staffers to distraction.
When he talks of education, Kerry makes sure to mention his sister's job as an inner-city teacher. In recent weeks, he has brought family members on his campaign bus to talk about life before presidential politics, as well as war buddies who have praised Kerry's war-hero actions in Vietnam.
"I like him, he's more relaxed," said Edie Bachieri of Nashua, N.H.